84 miners killed in Turkey in first 11 months of 2017

Three miners lost their lives in Turkey’s southeastern province Şırnak due to methane gas poisoning on the International Miners’ Day of December 4. In the first 11 months of 2017, 84 miners were killed in occupational murders in Turkey

As the International Miners Day was celebrated in various countries, three miners were killed in a coal mine due to methane gas poisoning in Turkey's southeastern province of Şırnak on Monday.

According to the data of the Occupational Health and Safety Council (ISIG), 84 miners were killed due to occupational murders in the first eleven months of 2017.

With the recent 2 miners, who lost their lives due to mine collapse in Karadon coal mine affiliated to the Turkish Hardcoal Authority (TTK) in Zonguldak, the number of workers killed in TTK increased to 6.

While the occupational murders mostly took place in lignite mine, hard coal mine, marble quarry, stone and copper quarries, the death of 54 miners was due to mine collapse and crush.

Zonguldak, Şırnak, southern province Antalya, western province Manisa, northwestern province Bursa, and eastern province Elazığ were the cities that miners lost their lives due to occupational murders in 2017.

MINERS REMEMBER DEAD COLLEAGUES

Miners working at the Turkish Hardcoal Authority commemorated their coworkers who died in a mine collapse a week ago as part of the International Miners' Day on December 4. Two miners had lost their lives in an occupational murder in Turkey’s northwestern province of Zonguldak on November 27.

In the Turkish Hardcoal Authority in Turkey’s largest coal basin Zonguldak province, there are 7,596 workers in total below and above the ground. The number of miners in the city is about 14,000 when considering the workers working at private and unauthorized coal mines.

On the average 10 workers lose their lives every year as a result of occupational murders in the coal mines.

TURKISH GOVERNMENT DELAYED THE LAW ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Although the Turkish government had said they would make improvements in the law on occupational health and safety after the Soma Massacre in 2014 in which 301 miners lost their lives due to fire broke out at a coal mine in Manisa, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) delayed the relevant law and decrees for the third time in July of this year and left them to 2020.

The AKP delayed the law, which would enact 'the obligation to employ an occupational safety specialist and occupational physician for public institutions and less dangerous workplaces with less than 50 workers’, to July 1, 2020.